Sierra Couples: family life in the Sierra Club family

When Frank and Diane met in Sierra Singles, it created a problem.

No, not that kind of problem; it was just that, though they loved the activities of Sierra Singles and even kept leading Singles events after they got married, they started to feel that the singles group wasn't quite the right place for them.

So nearly 21 years ago, the Alexanders went out and founded - the Sierra Couples, a place to preserve the good Sierra Club camaraderie they had enjoyed in Singles, but among couples, and as the years progressed, among families.

The Sierra Couples grew from three or four original couples to around 30 couples, where it has remained fairly stable these past few years. Over the years kids grew up and went on to college and other adventures, and their parents continued to mellow out, so that today the core group of couples is mostly in its 40s, 50s, and 60s, though several couples with babies and toddlers help keep the section youthful and vibrant.

They've been holding one activity per month, with attendance averaging five or six couples. The activities nowadays seem to be largely barbecues, often with a short hike. They have holiday get-togethers: a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings a week before Thanksgiving, a Christmas party, a New Year's Day safe-and-sane get-together, and an anniversary potluck in February to plan future activities. Their summer car-camping trips are often the most popular events, and the recent Dinner in the Delta boat trip seems to be the start of a popular series.

If you like good people of all ages who like to have fun under the umbrella of the Sierra Club, then this is the group for you! To join Sierra Couples or just to check them out, go to their web site at: www.sierraclub.org/chapters/sanfranciscobay/couples/

There you will see a statement of what Sierra Couples is all about, a few photos of its activities, an announcement of the latest activity for the month, and instructions on how to get on the e-mail list. For other information you can call Frank Alexander at (925) 634-5710 (day) or (925) 634-5456 (evening).

So, Frank says, "you 'couples' out there who are looking for a 'couple' of things to do with at least a 'couple' (if not more) of good, fun people within the Sierra Club organization, check us out, why don't you? We're just a 'couple' of clicks away."